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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29815596">When Paths Diverge- Divergence in Y1</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indradanush21/pseuds/Indradanush21'>Indradanush21</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>When Paths Diverge [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Good Slytherins, Hogwarts Inter-House Unity, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Manipulative Harry Potter, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ron Weasley Bashing, Slytherin Court, Slytherin Harry Potter, Slytherin Politics, Smart Harry, Tags May Change</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:16:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,977</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29815596</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indradanush21/pseuds/Indradanush21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Potter has a month before Hogwarts when the Dursleys avoid him and don’t lock up his school supplies. He just learned about his parents and the Wizarding World. Surely he would want to go back to Diagon Alley to explore some more with the extra time he has on hand.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>When Paths Diverge [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2184504</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>104</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Initiative</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was a co-current Idea I had while writing the Y3 divergence story. All characters and settings are owned by J.K. Rowling. Thanks for reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After Hagrid left, Harry sat in his room, surrounded by his school supplies. Hedwig, his beautiful white owl, his first gift, was lounging in her cage near the window. Even though the room was otherwise threadbare, only a ratty mattress on the floor and a small pile of thin blankets, Harry was the happiest he had ever been. His relatives were afraid that he might to magic and had, for the first time in his life, left him well alone. He was still beaten if he was found in the house or tried to eat food from the kitchen. As long as he got the groceries, made food, and did the gardening, he was fine. His relatives were afraid of him doing magic. </p><p>Hagrid never mentioned that magic wasn’t allowed outside of school, but Harry wasn’t sure. The man also mentioned that he, himself, was not allowed to do magic. Harry wanted to know more about what was going on. </p><p>Since he had been handling the grocery budget as the main (aka. sole) cook, he had control of the grocery money. For years as a kid, Aunt Petunia accompanied him and double checked the receipts to make sure not a penny was unaccounted for. Harry made sure to follow her instructions to a T from the age of 5 and he hadn’t made any mistakes, lest he be punished again. </p><p>Harry grinned, thinking back to the time when he was 9 and performed his greatest manipulation up to that point. At the time, he had been getting groceries perfectly for 4 years, along with his increasing expertise in cooking food. Petunia no longer accompanied him as she was 'satisfied' with his work. She had begun to ‘trust’ him somewhat as she had stopped hitting him with frying pans when he was in the kitchen or reviewing his receipts with her. He had heard her complaining to her friends over the years of how unfair it was that Vernon and her sweet Dudders got to relax while she worked. Harry decided he could expand on that feeling, stretch it, and then cause her to break her monitoring of him. For all he knew, he had 9 years left in the house and would be kicked out with poor grades and no prospects. He needed to build funds to get away before his A-levels so he could study and fix himself up for his future. </p><p>Harry used Petunia’s growing ‘trust’ to makes sure his receipt checks more and more frequently coincided with her favorite TV shows. After a few weeks of angry words from Petunia regarding the extra work during her day off, Harry decided to voice his ‘concerns’ as she checked her receipts, once again pulled away from the television celebrity gossip. </p><p>“Aunt Petunia,” he asked softly, looking down. </p><p>“What is it, Boy?”</p><p>“May I make a proposal to help lower your workload. I can take on more work and you can relax when Uncle Vernon and Dudley are not around.”</p><p>Petunia eyed him suspiciously. “What do you mean?”</p><p>“Aunt Petunia, I have been doing groceries for so many years accurately. You have checked the receipts every week and you know that I have been precise. I can continue to go grocery shopping by myself and keep buying the same products. The quality of the food will stay the same and I will hand you the extra money that I always give you from groceries.” Harry paused, letting Petunia think it over. </p><p>“I know that you use the extra cash for things you need and deserve,” he began, but saw Petunia puff up and hurried the conversation along. “I want to make you more comfortable. No one needs to know and you will not have to miss anything on the tele for monitoring the receipts.”</p><p>“What is in it for you?” she asked, eyes narrowed. </p><p>“I will be out of everyone’s way faster so Uncle Vernon will not be able to catch me for his ‘lessons’ with his belt.”</p><p>“Why does that matter?” Petunia asked, but Harry could see she was getting sold on the idea of less work. </p><p>“Well, if I don’t hurt as much and go to school more often, the neighborhood gossip about me, and therefore about you, will decrease. If it helps, I could get more coupons from the store for the products you like to buy or even sneak extra purchases when I am out, so you don’t have to worry about sneaking them in yourself. This will save you even more time.”</p><p>“Ok. But I will randomly check your purchases and will want you in your room as soon as possible.”</p><p>“Yes, Aunt Petunia.”</p><p>From that moment on, Petunia’s rarer acts of physical violence were almost non-existent, even though she did nothing to stop Vernon or Dudley. Harry kept one grocery bill per month to show Petunia during the first few months, while getting bargain deals at a much seedier store further away. She never checked and was happy with the extra things he got her occasionally. Not that she relayed that to him. </p><p>That extra cash he saved would alone cover a few trips to London during one of the weekdays and he could be back before anyone was the wiser. He could learn about the Wizarding World, learn what others thought of him, and explore his options before officially starting a life of a celebrity. He knew enough from Aunt Petunia’s gossip that the world liked to tear down those who were famous. If he got a head start, his life could be drastically different than the one here at Privet Drive.</p><p>Plans made; Harry looked through his supplies for a map of Diagon Alley. Finding none, it became his top priority on his first visit. He had a month and could at the very least sneak a visit a week before school started. He would use his normal clothes as a disguise and get a had to hide his scar. He wrote down his plan in order before going to sleep with a rare smile on his face. </p><p>1.	Get a hat, sunglasses, and a small knapsack to complete his disguise.<br/>
2.	Get to the Leaky Cauldron.<br/>
3.	Get a Map of Diagon Alley<br/>
4.	Get to Gringotts to learn about his assets<br/>
5.	Plan shopping trip to get other essentials Hagrid didn’t have time to let him get<br/>
6.	Re-evaluate this list after the 1st visit.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Discovery</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Harry begins exploring</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is not beta read. Since this Harry hasn't had friends his age and has missed a lot more school than canon-Harry, his speech patterns will be a little rough at first. Thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry had hid his paper, pencils, and list in his school knapsack, telling Aunt Petunia that he was going shopping as soon as Uncle Vernon left for work at 6am. He then took the public transport to the Leaky Cauldron, while stopping at a small second-hand muggle shop to get his sunglasses and hat.  His eyesight was terrible, so he searched for the largest 60’s style pair, checking the first item off the list. He didn’t see any other magical with eyeglasses when he was in Diagon Alley and writes that as a part of his trip to Gringotts.</p><p>Checking his appearance in the window glass, the dark glasses covered most of his face and the hat hid his hair. His rolled up baggy jeans (Dudley’s hand-me-down) and re-stitched shirt hide most of his figure. He placed the plain newsboy hat at an angle to partially obscure his face and ducked into the entrance of the pub. It was about as crowded as it was when he was here with Hagrid the previous week. Harry approached the Barman, Tom. </p><p>“Excuse me, sir.”</p><p>Tom looked up. “Would you be able to let me into Diagon Alley?” Harry asked politely, hoping the man wouldn’t see the glasses under his sunglasses and question his appearance. </p><p>“Sure thing, lad. Muggle-born?”</p><p>Here Harry, remembering what the blond boy had said at the tailor shop had mentioned, decided to play the excited kid. “Half-magical, sir.”</p><p>Tom led Harry to the back brick wall. “Where are your parents, lad? What’s your name?”</p><p>“My name is John Smith and my parents are at Gringotts. Do you happen to have a map of Diagon Alley?”</p><p>“Afraid not, John,” Tom said as he tapped the bricks with his wand. “The Goblins would probably be the best to ask since they own majority of the shops in this area and the businesses are renting the premises from them.”</p><p>“Thank you, Tom,” Harry said, almost running into the Alley. He could barely make out the tall, white marble building at the end of the Alley towards his right. “See you later.” </p><p>As he walked down the street, amazed once again at the almost overwhelming sights, sounds and sensations, he quickened his pace to the bank to avoid distractions. At the door to the bank, the guards stood next to the warning he saw last week. </p><p>“Good morning, Sir Goblin,” Harry stated in his most polite voice. The guards looked surprised.</p><p>“Good morning, Wizard Child,” the one on the left sneers. “What business do you have with us?”</p><p>“With utmost respect, Sir, I am not familiar with Goblin customs. I have been raised in the Muggle world and I want to make sure I don’t offend you accidently. Could you please direct me to where I should go for questions regarding my holdings?” </p><p>“That is Ma’am to you, Child,” the guard replied.</p><p>Harry’s heart dropped into his stomach as his panic began to rise. “No offense meant, Ma’am,” he said with a rapidly paling face. </p><p>His stricken face set the guard laughing, “None taken, Child. I am on duty now, so I cannot accompany you, but if you take a right as soon as you go in, you will see double doors with another guard in front of them. Tell them Amethyst sends you. They will be able to connect to where you need to go.”</p><p>“Thank you, Ma’am,” he said as he headed inside. </p><p>The second guard was surprised to see the Wizard Child approach him. “Good morning, Sir or Ma’am Goblin. My name is Harry Potter. Amethyst directed me here. Could you please direct me to the Potter Account Manager?” </p><p>“Come with me. I will take you to Griphook. He is the Potter Account Manager,” the goblin said. “My name is Carnot, and you may call be either Sir or Carnot.”</p><p>“Thank you, Sir. As I am not familiar with Goblin culture, please let me know if I accidently offend you in any way, which is definitely not my intention.”</p><p>“Will do, Mr. Potter,” Carnot replied, sounding amused. “Or do you prefer Harry?”</p><p>“Harry, please, Sir… Would you mind staying with me while I learn about banking and my accounts? I met with Griphook last week, but I didn’t know he was the Potter Account Manager.”</p><p>Carnot frowned. “That is odd. I will stay with you, Harry.” </p><p>Carnot caught Griphook near trolleys. “Griphook, I have brought Mr. Harry Potter to check his accounts. He informs me that you met with him last week and did not inform him that you are the Potter Account Manager.”</p><p>Griphook looked shaken and paled.</p><p>“Will you like to inform me why you didn’t follow Gringotts policy last week?” Carnot asked.</p><p>“Thank you for bringing Mr. Potter, Carnot. I was not able to inform him last week, but I will get it done.” He then turned towards Harry. “Mr. Potter, my sincere apologies for the mishap. We could sit down together today to go over your holdings. Follow me.”</p><p>Griphook apparently expected Carnot to leave and froze when Carnot began to follow. </p><p>“Carnot, do you not have other busines to attend to?”</p><p>“Griphook, Harry requested that I accompany him today and, seeing the mishap last week, I believe that it would be wise to have an extra set of eyes and ears in the room.”</p><p>“I assure you everything is fine. The Potter reagent, Albus Dumbledore, has given me full reign to interact with and inform Mr. Potter as I see fit.”</p><p>“Oh. I didn’t know Albus Dumbledore was reagent to yet another underage account. Could you show me the documentation from the Potter and Black accounts?”</p><p>Griphook looked conflicted and glanced down the corridor, before pulling out his sword. “Leave us be Carnot, or your head will be severed. I will inform the other goblins of how you were trying to steal from Mr. Potter.”</p><p>Carnot snarled, pulling out his own long sword. “Amethyst sent him to me. I will not leave him unguarded, especially from a thief like you.”</p><p>Harry had been edging toward Carnot the moment Griphook mentioned interacting with Harry “as he saw fit.” From Harry’s perspective, Griphook was a lot fishier than Carnot, which was further confirmed as the conversation went on. </p><p>The commotion drew the attention of a goblin at the end of the stack of trolleys, who raised an alarm, drawing other goblins to the area. Griphook reached out, grabbing Harry, and placed his sword arm between Harry and Carnot, trying to make it look like he was protecting Harry. Harry froze on the spot upon being touched. His anxiety further rooted him to the spot when he realized that the dangerous weapon was less than two feet from his head. His vision greyed and he fought to keep his mind away from Uncle Vernon's punishments.  </p><p>“I, Griphook, challenge Carnot to a duel in the Arena!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The Goblin Nation Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Harry learns much about himself and the Goblins</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry was numb as his innate fear bloomed into heavy chains that continued to hold him to the exact spot where he stood, the grey world moving in slow motion around him. He was vaguely aware as goblins entered the trolley area and began to surround Griphook and Carnot. What he wanted most was to get as far away from the sword as possible so he could think clearly again. This grey world, which was his refuge during his beatings from Uncle Vernon, was now his enemy.</p><p>“What is going on here?” A regal goblin in flowing purple robes lined with gold commanded an indeterminant time later. He had gold rings covering both his hands and had parted the surrounding sea of goblins like the bow of a ship.</p><p>Griphook quickly spoke: “Hogarthe, my King, Carnot was threatening the Potter Heir.”</p><p>“Is this true?” The king asked, turning to Carnot. “No, my King. Griphook has been behaving against Gringotts code as the Potter Account Manager.”</p><p>“Oh…really.” Hogarthe’s voice took a feral tone, fury beginning to mar his features. Hogarthe then raised his voice to include the entire trolley area, “We must hold a trial today.” His face soured. “Since Griphook declared a challenge before multiple goblins before a trial could take place, he will get an opportunity to fight for his life once the trial has concluded.”</p><p>Two sets of four goblins militarily dressed came forth from the crowd, with spears upright in their left hands and shields on their right forearms. Each set took Carnot and Griphook away from the area. Hogarthe turned to Harry. “Who might you be, Child?”</p><p>Harry flinched at the loud voice as he regained full awareness. He spoke softly, “My name is Harry Potter, Sir. I just came to the bank to learn more about my family.”</p><p>“Per bank policy, you will be seen by a group of healers,” Hogarthe said in a softer tone. “Is that alright with you, Child?”</p><p>Harry had never seen a doctor before, but he was too scared to say anything to Goblin King. “Yes. Thank you, Sir,” Harry replied timidly, trying not to draw too much attention.</p><p>“I will walk you to the Healers myself,” Hogarthe said as another three sets of four goblin came forth and accompanied them through the back hallways. </p><p>“Do you know much about the Goblins, Child?” Hogarthe asked.</p><p>“No, Sir. Sorry, Sir. I didn’t know I was a wizard until my birthday last week.” </p><p>“What do you know of us?”</p><p>“I know you handle the wizarding bank and own the land upon which Diagon Alley stands. Not much else…Though I would love to learn more,” he added quickly. </p><p>Hogarthe raised an eyebrow “Why?”</p><p>“From what I have seen, you are a strong, proud people with a rich history and culture. You also control all wizarding finances and heirlooms, and a large section of the wizarding shopping street in London. I would like, at the very least, to be able to hold proper conversations with you without accidentally offending you.”</p><p>“You don’t think goblins are beneath wizards?”</p><p>“Why would I? You are living creatures, the same as any human. You can interact with us humans as equals, even without having the fi-finan-financial power to do so.”</p><p>They walked in silence until they got to a set of ajar large, simple mahogany double doors with caducei adorning their surfaces. The room inside was vast, about the size of half a cricket field. It was lined with rows and rows of infirmary beds, like those found in army hospitals There were large, artificial peaked windows through which the sun rays warmed the room. </p><p>“Healer Ruby, I have a patient for you.” An older? goblin with tufts of white in her large knobby ears, dressed in a plain black Victorian gown approached the group.</p><p>“Young Mr. Harry Potter requires medical attention. He was caught in the feud upstairs. I would like him to be healthy enough to attend the trial today… He also would like to learn about the Goblin Nation.</p><p>“We will take good care of him.”</p><p>“It was nice talking with you, Mr. Potter,” Hogarthe said to Harry. “See you in a few hours.”</p><p>Ruby directed Harry to one of the infirmary beds near the windows. She directed her nurses to arrange the privacy screens as she spoke with Harry.</p><p>“Have you ever been to a Healer, Child?”</p><p>“No. My aunt and uncle have never taken me to a doctor… May I ask a question?”</p><p>Ruby nodded.</p><p>“Why do various goblins call me Child?”</p><p>“Children are very precious to us goblins. They are to be prized and cherished as they are our future.”</p><p>“Thank you, Healer Ruby.”</p><p>“I would normally just do a scan on you but since you have never seen a healer, I would like to do the in-depth blood test. Would that be alright?” Harry nodded. “Hold out your finger and I will collect exactly seven drops of blood in this vial.”  </p><p>Once the blood was sent off to be tested, Healer Ruby sat down next to Harry.</p><p>“While we wait, do you have any questions for me? Our king mentioned you wanted to learn more about us.”</p><p>“Yes. Could you explain how the trial and the challenge work.” </p><p>“I will walk you through them when we go downstairs, if you allow me to accompany you.”</p><p>“Thank you. Can you tell me more about your history and culture?”</p><p>“We goblins have historical records dating thousands of years. They say we came into being with the Egyptian Sun god, Ra, stepped onto the muddy earth near the banks of the Nile. We were simple beings, without language or culture, who were drawn to gems of the earth from which we came. Seeing our primitive societies, Sashat, the Egyptian goddess of wisdom, knowledge, and writing, gifted us with our minds and our language. Her sister Isis gifted us with magic. From then on, we traded with humans and spread out throughout the world. We came to the English Iles around the same time as the modern humans, about 40,000 years ago. At first---”</p><p>She was abruptly cut of as two quarrelling goblins barreled into the room, frothing at the mouth. They began to say something in Gobbledygook but switched to English upon seeing Harry. “Healer Ruby, did you send this blood sample to get tested?” One of them asked.</p><p>“Yes. Mr. Harry Potter said he had never seen a healer before. He looked malnourished but other than that, I wasn’t sure what else. Is there a problem?”</p><p>Both goblins stared at her, incredulously. One of them took a few large breaths before handing her a thick scroll. “Read this and you will understand.”</p><p>Healer Ruby carefully took the scroll into her hands and began to read, turning redder and redder as the scroll became longer than three feet. Harry was starting to get worried as she started to puff up with anger and indignation, her lips pulled back as she bared her teeth. Once she was done, she took some very long breaths, “Harry, Child, I am going to hand this to you while I go with them to get things set up for you. Stay here and read through your medical history. I will answer any questions when I get back.”</p><p>Harry opened the scroll:<br/>
<ins><strong>Complete medical and brief family history for: </strong></ins>Hadrian Evans James Potter-Black<br/>
Preferred Name: Harry Potter</p><p>Age 0:<br/>
Muggle vaccinations: MMR, DTP, Polio<br/>
Magical vaccinations: Dragonpox, Spattergroit, Wizard’s flu<br/>
Illnesses: Common cold, influenza </p><p>Age 1:<br/>
Muggle vaccinations: Hib, flu<br/>
Magical vaccinations: Snaglepoff<br/>
Illnesses: Common cold, influenza<br/>
Injuries/accidents:<br/>
August 10, 1981<br/>
- Fall off toy broom</p><p>October 31,1981<br/>
- Killing curse to forehead<br/>
- Cut on skull<br/>
- Dehydration<br/>
- Mild Hypothermia<br/>
- Magic block applied by Albus Dumbledore: Core at 15%</p><p>November 1, 1981 – Age 2<br/>
- Neglect<br/>
- Starvation<br/>
- Diaper rash (recurrent)<br/>
- Bullied by Dudley Dursley</p><p>Age 2:<br/>
Illnesses: influenza, Common cold<br/>
Injuries/accidents:<br/>
- Pushed down flight of stairs by Dudley Dursley<br/>
- Put in cupboard under the stairs<br/>
- Neglect<br/>
- Starvation<br/>
- Cigarette burns to legs</p><p>Age 3:<br/>
Illnesses: influenza<br/>
Injuries/accidents:<br/>
- Bullied by Dudley Dursley<br/>
- Lives in cupboard under the stairs<br/>
- Neglect<br/>
- Starvation<br/>
- Cigarette burns to legs<br/>
- Beaten with newspaper rolls</p><p>Age 4:<br/>
Illnesses: influenza<br/>
Injuries/accidents:<br/>
- Bullied by Dudley Dursley<br/>
- Lives in cupboard under the stairs<br/>
- Neglect<br/>
- Starvation<br/>
- Cigarette burns to legs<br/>
- Beaten with newspaper rolls<br/>
- Oil burns on hand secondary to cooking</p><p>Age 5:<br/>
Illnesses: pneumonia<br/>
Injuries/accidents:<br/>
- Bullied by Dudley Dursley<br/>
- Lives in cupboard under the stairs<br/>
- Neglect<br/>
- Starvation<br/>
- Cigarette burns to legs<br/>
- Beaten with newspaper rolls<br/>
- Oil burns on hand secondary to cooking<br/>
- Both hands forced on hot stove top<br/>
- Degrading eyesight</p><p>Age 6:<br/>
Injuries/accidents:<br/>
- Bullied by Dudley Dursley<br/>
- Lives in cupboard under the stairs<br/>
- Neglect<br/>
- Starvation<br/>
- Cigarette burns to legs<br/>
- Beaten with newspaper rolls and canes<br/>
- Oil burns on hand secondary to cooking<br/>
- Both hands forced on hot stove top<br/>
- Dehydration<br/>
- Gardening injuries<br/>
- Degrading eyesight</p><p>Age 7:<br/>
Injuries/accidents:<br/>
- Bullied by Dudley Dursley<br/>
- Lives in cupboard under the stairs<br/>
- Neglect<br/>
- Starvation<br/>
- Cigarette burns to legs<br/>
- Beaten with canes<br/>
- Oil burns on hand secondary to cooking<br/>
- Both hands forced on hot stove top<br/>
- Dehydration<br/>
- Gardening injuries<br/>
- Degrading eyesight<br/>
- Frying pan injuries to head</p><p>Age 8:<br/>
Injuries/accidents:<br/>
- Bullied by Dudley Dursley<br/>
- Lives in cupboard under the stairs<br/>
- Neglect<br/>
- Starvation<br/>
- Beaten with canes<br/>
- Both hands forced on hot stove top<br/>
- Dehydration<br/>
- Gardening injuries<br/>
- Degrading eyesight<br/>
- Frying pan injuries to head<br/>
- Mugged on streets<br/>
- Severe beatings with belt leaving welts</p><p>Age 9:<br/>
Injuries/accidents:<br/>
- Bullied by Dudley Dursley<br/>
- Lives in cupboard under the stairs<br/>
- Neglect<br/>
- Starvation<br/>
- Beaten with cane<br/>
- Dehydration<br/>
- Degrading eyesight<br/>
- Gardening injuries<br/>
- Mugged on streets<br/>
- Severe beatings with belt leaving welts<br/>
- Thrown off Pier<br/>
- Dog bites, infected </p><p>Age 10:<br/>
Injuries/accidents:<br/>
- Bullied by Dudley Dursley<br/>
- Lives in cupboard under the stairs<br/>
- Neglect<br/>
- Starvation<br/>
- Beaten with cane<br/>
- Dehydration<br/>
- Gardening injuries<br/>
- Degrading eyesight<br/>
- Mugged on streets<br/>
- Severe beatings with belt leaving welts and buckle marks<br/>
- Hypothermia</p><p>Age 11:<br/>
Injuries/accidents:<br/>
- Bullied by Dudley Dursley<br/>
- Neglect<br/>
- Starvation<br/>
- Dehydration<br/>
- Gardening injuries<br/>
- Severe beatings with belt leaving welts and buckle marks<br/>
- Hypothermia</p><p><ins><strong>Magical blocks and leeches:</strong></ins><br/>
Magical core: 85% blocked by Albus Dumbledore, unstable<br/>
Family magics: Blocked<br/>
Memory: Multiple blocks and memory charms<br/>
Growth: Severely stunted<br/>
Other magics: Soul leech, Appearance potions</p><p><ins><strong>Immediate Family:</strong></ins><br/>
Maternal Grandmother: Bluebell Evans (née Gaunt, deceased)<br/>
Maternal Grandfather: Richard Evans (deceased)<br/>
Paternal Grandmother: Dorea Potter (née Black, deceased)<br/>
Paternal Grandfather: Charlus Potter (deceased)<br/>
Adopted Paternal Grandfather: Orion Black (deceased)<br/>
Adopted Paternal Grandmother: Walburga Black (née Black, deceased)<br/>
Father: James Charlus Potter (deceased)<br/>
Mother: Lily Orchid Potter (née Evans, deceased)<br/>
Adopted Father: Sirius Orion Black (incarcerated)</p><p><ins><strong>Lordships</strong></ins>: Heir Potter (formerly Pevarell), Heir Black, Heir Slytherin</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Questions, Comments, and Suggestions welcome. Thanks for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Harry's Musing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Harry thinks things through.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I've made some minor changes to the previous chapters.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Reading his medical history did not surprise Harry. He knew what the Dursleys were doing to him was wrong. As a child, all he wanted was their approval. He had been so excited to bring his marks home at the age of 5. That resulted in him getting his hands burned for the first time, lashings with the newspaper, and a week’s time in his cupboard without food or treatment. He realized then that the Dursleys didn’t care about him. His hands had healed completely over the week, which was a sore spot for Petunia, but they couldn’t say that the healing was something ‘freaky’ and so Harry could return to school. The Dursleys had spun the narrative that he was a delinquent with dead delinquent parents and that he was forced upon them. They were just poor souls caught up in taking care of the frail delinquent boy because they couldn’t leave him on the streets and had to keep him at home for extended periods of time. </p>
<p>Harry missed a lot of school because of the Dursleys, who kept him at home after his ‘punishments’ to allow him to relatively heal (while simultaneously starving him) before sending him back to school. They had the exact days calculated out to avoid the truancy officers showing up at the house. Dudley also kept all the kids away from him at school. As a result, Harry’s social interactions suffered. Harry purposely began dumbing his work after his first report card, but still couldn’t dumb it down enough to be behind Dudley. Harry did not enjoy his ‘rewards’ for doing well and had to find a way out. </p>
<p>He had begun to see the strings attached to situations around him and he had seen how the Dursleys tweaked those strings to get what they wanted. Case in point, when they wanted pity from the community, they spun lies based on the truth that Harry was an orphan who was living with them. Harry decided that he would need to tweak some strings himself, in an effort to stop the increasingly frequent kicks and punches from Vernon. </p>
<p>Harry privately asked Dudley if he could do Dudley’s homework for him. He also volunteered to look over his schoolwork if there was time in class, enticing Dudley with extra free time. So, to spite the Dursleys and learn as much as he could, he wrote his best essays and saved them under his mattress in the closet. Then he partially dumbed down the essays for Dudley’s ‘homework’ and further dumbed down the essays for his own homework. He purposely acted as stupid as he could in class. For the first few years, none of his teachers cottoned on. </p>
<p>When Harry was 6, Harry started gardening for Aunt Petunia. He started with weeds and advanced to taking care of flowers over time, all without gloves. He had cuts and scrapes from his work, but he liked it better than being yelled at and beaten inside the house. The plants responded to his care and the bugs never harmed him. That is when he discovered he could talk to snakes. They kept him company in the gardens and were concerned whenever he got hurt. He learned how to minimize the damage from weeding from the snakes. He always felt their chatter to be a balm to his battered heart. That’s why he didn’t think twice about talking to the snake on Dudley’s birthday, which caused the fiasco with the vanished glass.</p>
<p>Harry learned that what the Dursleys was doing constituted as mental, physical, and emotional abuse after a lecture around when he was 6. He tried to tell one of his teachers, showing the healing cigarette wounds on his legs and some of the scars on his hands after the multiple burns. She had called the Dursleys in to discuss this, and they spun it to appear as if Harry was lying. Not only did he lose the trust of his teacher, but he got the worst caning of his life until that point.</p>
<p>He had tried other adults, who were all eager to help him. Teachers, shop owners, strangers. They were always outraged and some of them took him to the constables, who always were ready to help. He was told that he would never go back to the Dursleys and the authorities would take care of things. Things would get hazy for a few days and the adults would believe the Dursleys’ lies. Those who said they would protect him, hated him more after all was said and done.  After a year of this, Harry decided to never trust any adults from then on. He wondered if this was also part of the ‘freaky’ things that happened around him. Now that Harry knew that whatever he was told was ‘freaky’ was actually Magic, he was certain that Magic played a role. </p>
<p>Harry always thought about running away but wasn’t sure why he never tried. As early as he can remember, he has a sort of haziness associated with whenever he had a plan. There was always a sense of déjà vu whenever he was thinking of escape and he would find plans under his mattress that he was sure were written by him. However, he could never remember writing those plans. He dreamed of a poor, raggedy dressed man with sandy hair who tried to run away with him multiple times, but he didn’t remember the details. Harry just chalked it up to being one of the freaky things that happened to him. Looking at his medical history, he wondered how much of it was due to the memory charms. </p>
<p>His Maths teacher, Mr. Davis, had noticed him writing the correct answer on a test and erasing them to incorrect answers when he was 8. He was a new teacher that year and was always fair to Harry. Harry had seen him send Dudley disapproving looks when he made fun of Harry and was always concerned whenever Harry came back to school after being ‘ill’. </p>
<p>When he called Harry to his office, he asked Harry to take seat, before holding up his test. “Why are you erasing your correct answers, Harry?”</p>
<p>Harry was scared that he would talk to the Dursleys and that would result in worse beatings. “I d-d-don’t know what you m-mean, Sir.”</p>
<p>Mr. Davis held up a flashlight behind the paper, illuminating the work Harry had erased. “I graded the erased work. You have scored at the top of the year.” </p>
<p>Harry paled further. “P-p-please d-don’t t-t-tell the Dursleys,” he whispered. </p>
<p>Mr. Davis looked at his pale, trembling form and nodded. “Ok. I won’t tell the Dursleys.”</p>
<p>Harry’s heart soared in relief.</p>
<p>“On one condition- ” Harry’s heart plummeted to his toes. “Tell me why I shouldn’t tell the Dursleys.”</p>
<p>Harry was stuck. If he didn’t say anything, Mr. Davis would talk to the Dursleys. On the other hand, if he talked about the Dursleys’ treatment of him, Mr. Davis would still talk to the Dursleys.</p>
<p>“I will not tell the Dursleys about what we talk about,” Mr. Davis said kindly. “I just want to know your reason.”</p>
<p>Harry couldn’t speak, nor put into words. He shamefacedly lifted his long sleeves from his hands to reveal his burned/scarred hands. </p>
<p>Mr. Davis’s eyes narrowed and a chilly aura spread from the man, causing Harry to quickly cover his hands and shrink back. </p>
<p>“We need to report this to the authorities. You are not going back to the Dursleys.”</p>
<p>“Please don’t Sir…” Harry began.</p>
<p>“Harry, this is wrong,” Mr. Davis said in a kinder tone. “We, as teachers, have a duty to report abuse.”</p>
<p>“I know t-that, Sir,” Harry said regaining his voice. “What the Dursleys are doing is wrong. I have tried multiple times, at least ten times, to get people to see me. All of them start out like you and then we report to the police station. Everyone says they will protect me, but in the end, they think I am a liar and hate me more. I don’t know why.”</p>
<p>“Ok…I will not tell anyone, yet”, Mr. Davis said. “Though it is very strange that people seem to forget about the incident and immediately accuse you….Would you allow me to take care of your wounds at school? My wife and I have some basic EMT training we did in college.”</p>
<p>Harry looked relieved but did not trust Mr. Davis. “Let me think about that.”</p>
<p>Mr. Davis did not change his behavior in the classroom, per request, but always looked out for Harry. He let Harry know that he was investigating what happened to the previous reports through a friend in the police force to see if the ‘forgetting phenomenon’ happened to his friend, too.</p>
<p>Over many months, school became a refuge to Harry. In Mr. Davis, he saw the caring adult he never had. Mr. Davis eventually brought his wife into the know, bringing the total number of people who knew what was going on to three. Around Harry’s ninth birthday, Mr. Davis came to school looking grim. “My friend had found the filed report of the previous cases and had emailed me privately that he was going to bring the information. When I asked him via email, he had forgotten and had no clue what I was referencing. You are right, something unusual is going on.”</p>
<p>Harry begged Mr. Davis not to investigate more. He was happy just to have a place where he could be himself and not hated. </p>
<p>“Alright kiddo, I will drop this for now. How about the missus and I take you to the fair on your birthday this summer? I know school will be out, but we need to celebrate.”</p>
<p>“O-ok, but how will we get the Dursleys to listen?” </p>
<p>“I will talk to them.”</p>
<p>“But I don’t want you to forget or hate me.”</p>
<p>“Won’t happen kiddo.”</p>
<p>But that talk never came. With Harry’s luck Mr. Davis passed away in an accident with his wife in mid-July. For Harry, this was a devastating blow. Mr. Davis had shown him how a childhood should be for a short period of time. Harry knew that he wanted to always carry the same kindness in him that Mr. Davis did. </p>
<p>Harry pulled out some paper and pencils from his knapsack to write down his questions:</p>
<p>1.	What are memory charms? Is there a way to fix them?<br/>
2.	What is soul leech?<br/>
3.	What is a core block?<br/>
4.	Why was his adopted father incarcerated? Who was he? Did he dump him at the Dursleys? Why hadn’t the Dursleys said anything?<br/>
5.	What did it mean by Heir Potter (formerly Pevarell), Heir Black, Heir Slytherin?<br/>
6.	What money did he have?<br/>
7.	What were the goblin trial and challenges about? What were their rules?</p>
<p>The goblins still weren’t back. Harry thought <em>Might as well use this time to reorganize my thoughts.</em> Then he pulled out his to-do list:</p>
<p><del>1.	Get a hat, sunglasses, and a small knapsack to complete his disguise. </del><br/>
<del>2.	Get to the Leaky Cauldron.</del><br/>
<del>3.	Get a Map of Diagon Alley</del><br/>
<del>4.	Get to Gringotts to learn about his assets</del><br/>
5.	Plan shopping trip to get other essentials Hagrid didn’t have time to let him get<br/>
6.	 Re-evaluate this list after the 1st visit.<br/>
7.	Learn about assets<br/>
8.	Makes sure to get questions answered</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Questions, suggestions and comments are welcome. Thanks for reading!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Arena Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Harry sat in the first row of bleachers with Healer Ruby in a vast cavern teaming with goblins. The design was reminiscent of the Roman colosseums, ovoid in shape with a large, rectangular sandy pit in the middle, and a large stage at the center. Sitting near the front, Harry felt he stuck out like  a sore thumb, as he towered over the goblins by about a head. On the stage Chief Hogarthe sat on a temporary jewel-laden wood throne. To the left was the defendant’s box, where Griphook stood bound by three guards. Two goblins stood towards the front, one for the defendant and one for the prosecution. Hogarthe then signaled a goblin to place a gem? in front him. </p><p>“Greetings my citizens.” Hogarthe’s voice reverberated throughout the chamber. </p><p>“What is making his voice louder?” Harry asked Healer Ruby. As far as he could see, there was no microphone.</p><p>“There are multiple audio lacrimas on the platform connected to receivers around the chamber.” </p><p>Hogarthe continued to speak, “We are gathered here to witness the fair trial of Griphook Ratan of the Ratan Clan. He is accused of Theft, Theft from a child, and Endangerment of a child. Any objections before we start?”</p><p>There was silence. The trial proceeded like muggle dramas that Aunt Petunia watched on the tele. The persecution had a open and shut case with evidence from Jasper, the accountants, and many other goblins Harry had no clue of. Griphook was given a clear, water-like liquid, which Healer Ruby explained was something called “Veritaserum.” This potion makes the drinker tell the truth for a time proportional to the amount digested. </p><p>Griphook had taken over the Potter accounts among some others during the 1970s and 80s as young heirs were left parentless due to the war and the account managers mysteriously died. Sometimes he would do this by poisoning or killing the account managers, other times he would have a goblin who was indebted to the Ratan clan take over the accounts before they were transferred to him. </p><p>He had started taking over accounts on the request of Dumbledore, when the Prewett brothers had died. That line could only be inherited by twins and was set to go to the Weasley twins, but the Weasley family had been told that the account was defunct. Dumbledore took about 70 percent of the gold and heirlooms in the vaults, leaving the rest to Griphook, once the young heir met an untimely end before reaching the age of majority. </p><p>Griphook tried to stop speaking at times, but the potion forced him to continue, “I was told to prevent Harry Potter from accessing his accounts with a forgetfulness potion. I do not know what the plan is for Harry Potter, specifically, but I only care about the money.” </p><p>At this, there was an uproar among the goblins. Harry was not surprised based on how much the goblins said they prized children. </p><p>“Silence… SILENCE.” Hogarthe raised his voice, amplified by the lacrimas. “Griphook has committed grave crimes, as we have heard. However, he issued a challenge before his arrest and trial.”</p><p>Murmurs of dissent sparked through the crowd. “Therefore, he will not be directly executed. He must fight in the pit in a match to the death. The goblin he challenged is Jasper Blood-Diamond.”</p><p>Hogarthe turned to Jasper, who was standing on the platform on the persecution’s side. “Do you accept Jasper Blood-Diamond of the Blood clan?” </p><p>“I accept, my Chief.” </p><p>Hogarthe nodded. “Sapphire Gold, Head of the Arena, How should we proceed?”</p><p>A goblin bedecked in black robles and an arena emblem stepped forward. “We shall clear the platforms and prepare the arena for the fight immediately. Please remain seated so this can happen quickly.”</p><p>“Any questions, Harry?” Healer Ruby asked. </p><p>“Yes. From what I understand, Griphook will fight Jasper to the death for his crimes. Why wasn’t he executed and what happens if Griphook doesn’t die in the pit?”</p><p>“There is an ancient law stating that anyone who issues a challenge before an arrest can complete that challenge after the trial. Usually these matches are not to the death, but following what crimes have been committed, the chief can set the terms of the match.”</p><p>“Could Jasper have refused?”</p><p>“Yes, but that would have marred his honor and the honor of his clan. Hogarthe chose Jasper because of his known fighting skills. He could have asked a different goblin if he wanted someone else to fight.”</p><p>One thought occurred to Harry. He was so caught up in all that was going on that he forgot that he would have to go back to the Dursleys before Dudley or Uncle Vernon. He had lunch before the trial with Healer Ruby in the Infirmary a while ago. His heartrate shot up, rapidly paling and sweating.</p><p>“Healer Ruby…What time is it?”</p><p>“It’s 3:15. What is it Child?”</p><p>“I need to be back at the Dursleys by 4 at the latest with groceries, or they will have my hide!” Harry didn’t mean to overshare, but he could see his life flash before his eyes. He rubbed the scars on his palms frantically. </p><p> “Don’t worry, Child,” Healer Ruby said, patting his back. “We can get you back on time, with groceries even if the trial takes until tomorrow.”</p><p>“Wait- What?” Harry said. “Sorry, but that doesn’t make sense. How will I travel back in time and make it to the Dursleys?” </p><p>Healer Ruby grinned, baring her teeth. “It’s not time travel, Child. There is much to be done before you go off to Hogwarts, based on the records we saw earlier today. We have magic potions made from herbs many wizard potioneers cannot access above ground. There are Confusion potions, Forgetfulness potions, among others we can use to make sure the Dursleys don’t suspect anything. I will inform the other goblins to go to the Dursleys disguised as you while we work on getting things settled after the trial.”</p><p>“What about Dumbledore? Would he know? He is behind a lot of things going on and I don’t want him to catch on.” </p><p>Healer Ruby paused, considering. “Understandable. We should have you back at the Dursleys by ten tonight at the latest. I want to start the healing process as soon as possible, once we are sure what methods of tracking Dumbledore might be using. Either way, be rest assured that the Dursleys will not notice you late today.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I've split the chapter into two parts. </p><p>Suggestions and questions are welcome.</p><p>I've been busy over the last few weeks, so posting schedules may vary for now.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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